As summer fair season begins, so does an onslaught of fried foods. Deep-fried cereal, made with Trix and Cinnamon Toast Crunch, debuted at the San Diego fair this month. The fried treat is drizzled with syrup and topped with a few pieces of cereal.

Despite their hype, the cereal balls debuted to discouraging reviews.

"Now, when I was trying the deep-fried Cinnamon Toast Crunch, the pool of grease in the bottom of the basket made me clutch my heart a little. The doughy ball of greasy cereal wasn't bad, but it definitely isn't something I'd go out of my way to buy. Candace called the Trix edition 'disappointing,'" wrote one reviewer.

(Image credit: Courtesy of S. Lowe/RanchoBernardo.Patch.com)

Behind this recent fried phenomenon is Charlie Boghosian, creator of last year's deep-fried Kool Aid balls made with flour, water and cherry-flavored Kool Aid.